New study of New York City’s massive ‘Community Schools’ program paints encouraging picture

October 12, 2017

A massive Community Schools program in New York City is demonstrating encouraging signs of progress, according to a comprehensive study released Wednesday by the Rand Corporation.

Although the authors note that it’s too early to draw conclusions about the program’s success, they generally say that it’s on the right track, according to an analysis in Chalkbeat.org.

Chalkbeat notes that authors of the study “repeatedly cite school-level leaders who said they can see a real difference in their schools.”

One principal is quoted as saying: “The idea of supporting the entire family, as opposed to just looking at the child, it does so much. It says to the family, we’re here to do whatever we can to work with you to improve your child’s academic success.”

WEAC and NEA are strong supporters of the Community Schools model, which features integrated student supports, expanded learning time, family and community engagement, and collaborative leadership. The Community Schools model is being implemented in several communities throughout Wisconsin, including Madison, Green Bay, Oshkosh, Sun Prairie, Racine and Milwaukee. Find out more.

Read Chalkbeat’s summary of the Rand study:

In the largest effort of its kind, Mayor Bill de Blasio has stocked high-needs schools with an array of social services that he hopes can overcome the effects of poverty and improve student learning. The initiative has cost the city hundreds of millions of dollars and attracted the attention of districts across the country that are interested in so-called “community schools.”

WEAC News

A massive Community Schools program in New York City is demonstrating encouraging signs of progress, according to a comprehensive study released Wednesday by the Rand Corporation. One principal is quoted as saying: “The idea of supporting the entire family, as opposed to just looking at the child, it does so much. It says to the family, we’re here to do whatever we can to work with you to improve your child’s academic success.”

Bullying is sometimes very obvious – a big kid pushing a smaller kid around – but much more subtle forms of bullying can be just as harmful, says Prairie du Sac guidance counselor Anne Uphoff. “It could be leaving someone out on purpose,” Uphoff says in a Sauk Prairie Eagle article. “It could be where someone is really nice to you one-on-one, but in a crowd as a bystander they might not do anything. We try to get them to realize how that might look to the other child.”